GARFIELD COUNTY – Despite Bayfield trailing on the scoreboard, Braden Hoffman’s finish of fellow junior Ayden Casillas’ 60th-minute crossing pass indeed gave the guests an advantage in the Wolverines’ 2024 CHSAA Boys Soccer Class 3A State Tournament, Round-of-32 match Thursday afternoon.
Opposing Coal Ridge’s players knew this and took it upon themselves to ensure it would be about as short-lived as possible.
Working off a BHS turnover within the Wolverines’ defensive third, CRHS junior Giovanni Parker offset Hoffman’s strike only 43 seconds later by finishing a breakaway – rebuilding the ninth-seeded Titans’ lead to 4-1 and putting them on track for a 7-1 victory.
“This (still) means a lot, you know?” Wolverine senior Hunter Ferrell said. “It’s really cool to make it to the playoffs three years in a row. It’s just that we were tired, they were fast and bigger. I was exhausted …. We didn’t win, but we tried hard.”
Literally seconds after the Coal Ridge coaches shouted, “Who’s got trash?” at their players, lining up for junior Abel Lujan’s 63rd-minute corner taken from Bayfield junior goalkeeper Orion Botsford’s right, CRHS freshman George Roberts ended up being the garbage man. Lujan’s kick somehow carried over the chaos directly in front of Botsford and ended up at Roberts’ feet for a relatively simple back-post finish and solidified a 5-1 lead.
After failing to convert a 65th-minute penalty kick after being fouled by Wolverine junior Lane Hunter well inside the 18-yard box, Parker – who clanged his unguarded try off Botsford’s near post – completed his hat trick in the 71st by following up an ankle-twisting move put on BHS’ Julian Polanco with a near-post shot beating Botsford on speed alone.
Seeded 24th in the postseason bracket, the Wolverines (8-7-1 overall) still weren’t ready to fold. After Coal Ridge senior Matthew Webber netted the contest’s final goal in the 79th, Casillas almost scored with an 80th-minute chance but an alerted Ingelhart happily tipped it over the crossbar.
Nothing came of the resulting corner and seconds later all was said and done.
“We could have stepped it up a little more on defense,” said BHS junior Tauer Crotty. “But we played well on offense. But it was just discipline … and running out of energy. We’ll definitely take it more serious next year, and hopefully step up and make it into the second round.”
Ferrell is excited to see the 10+ juniors on the team turn into seniors and lead the team next year. Hoffman knows the team is getting more exposure with its frequent trips to the state tournament. His goal is for the Wolverines to make it to the second round.
CRHS (10-4-2 overall) will next face No. 8 Kent Denver, which eliminated No. 25 Delta the previous afternoon by a 5-2 margin.
